In brief
The Taliban has removed around 140 books authored by women from Afghan university curricula due to beliefs they conflict with Sharia law. This move is part of a broader initiative that bans the teaching of multiple subjects, particularly those relating to human rights and gender studies. Educational restrictions have intensified under the Taliban government since their return to power, further marginalizing women and limiting academic freedom.
The Taliban government has removed books written by women from the university teaching system in Afghanistan as part of a new ban which has also outlawed the teaching of human rights and sexual harassment.
Some 140 books by women - including titles like Safety in the Chemical Laboratory - were among 680 books found to be of concern due to anti-Sharia and Taliban policies.
The universities were further told they were no longer allowed to teach 18 subjects, with a Taliban official saying they were in conflict with the principles of Sharia and the system's policy.
The decree is the latest in a series of restrictions which the Taliban have brought in since returning to power four years ago.
Just this week, fibre-optic internet was banned in at least 10 provinces on the orders of the Taliban's supreme leader in a move officials said was to prevent immorality.
While the rules have had an impact on many aspects of life, women and girls have been particularly hard-hit: they are barred from accessing education over the sixth grade, with one of their last routes to further training cut off in late 2024, when midwifery courses were quietly shuttered.
Now even university subjects about women have been targeted: six of the 18 banned are specifically about women, including Gender and Development, The Role of Women in Communication, and Women's Sociology.
A member of the committee reviewing the books confirmed the ban on books written by women, telling BBC Afghan that all books authored by women are not allowed to be taught.
Zakia Adeli, the former deputy minister of justice prior to the Taliban's return and one of the authors who has found their books on the banned list, was unsurprised by the move.
Considering what the Taliban have done over the past four years, it was not far-fetched to expect them to impose changes on the curriculum, she said.
As well as books by women, the ban appears to have targeted books by Iranian authors or publishers, with members of the review panel stating it was designed to prevent the infiltration of Iranian content into the Afghan curriculum.
In the 50-page list sent to all universities in Afghanistan, 679 titles appear, 310 of which are either authored by Iranian writers or published in Iran.
But the decision has worried some lecturers, with a professor at one institution, who spoke on condition of anonymity, saying he feared it would be almost impossible to fill the gap.
Books by Iranian authors and translators serve as the primary link between Afghanistan's universities and the global academic community. Their removal creates a substantial void in higher education.
The BBC has approached the Taliban's Ministry of Education for comment.
